Marriages

Marriage announcements contain a much broader range of information, from the bare minimum of the names of the two parties, to comprehensive accounts of the addresses, occupations, and fathers' names. In the majority of cases, the name of the bride's father and his address are supplied, in a form such as "married on Tuesday last Michael Thomson Esq. to Miss Neville eldest daughter of James Neville of Bandon Esq.". For many eighteenth century marriages, a newspaper announcement may be the only surviving record, particularly where the relevant Church of Ireland register has not survived.

Obituaries

Obituaries are by far the most numerous newspaper announcements, and cover a much broader social spectrum than either births or marriages. Again, the kind of information given can vary widely, from the barest "died at Tullamore Mr Michael Cusack" to the most elaborate, giving occupation, exact age, and family relationships: "died at the house of her uncle Mr Patrick Swan in George's St in the 35th year of her age Mrs Burgess, relict of Henry Burgess Esq., late of Limerick." Precision such as this is rare, however; most announcements confine themselves to name, address, occupation, and place of death. Because of the paucity of Catholic burial records, newspaper obituaries are the most comprehensive surviving records of the deaths of the majority of the Catholic middle classes. From about the 1840s, the numbers of both obituaries and marriage announcements rose sharply; unfortunately these events are by then usually more easily traceable in parish or civil records.

From about the 1840s, the numbers of both obituaries and marriage announcements rose sharply; unfortunately these events are by then usually more easliy traceable in parish or civil records.

Advertisements

Advertisements, in the early newspapers especially, were more often paid announcements than true advertisements in the modern sense, and an extraordinary variety of information can be gleaned from them. The most useful types are:

• Elopements
  A husband would announce that his wife had absconded, and disclaim all responsibility for any debts she might contract. Usually his address and her maiden surname are given.
• Business announcements
  The most useful are those which record the place and nature of the business, which announce a change of address or ownership for the business, or which record the succession of a son to a business after his father's death.
• Bankruptcies
  These generally request creditors to gather at a specified time and place, and can be useful in narrowing the focus of a search for relevant transactions in the Registry of Deeds.